(Vocals, b. 1945) Arguably one of Canada’s finest vocal exports, over 25 of Murray’s 50-plus country hits between 1970 and 1991 crossed over to the pop chart. Ten country No. 1s in that period curiously did not include her two million-selling pop chart-toppers – ‘Snowbird’ (1970) and ‘You Needed Me’ (1978). Apart from these, Murray delivered 1980’s ‘Could ...
(Yo-an’-nez Se-kon’-ya) c. 1370–1412 Franco-Flemish composer and theorist Ciconia was active principally in Italy. For many years he was regarded as the main link between Machaut and Du Fay, and although other influential composers have now come to the fore, he is still seen as one of the most important figures of his generation. He wrote songs in French and ...
(Yo-an’-nes O’-ka-gem) c. 1425–97 Franco-Flemish composer Born in St Ghislain near Mons (now in Belgium), Ockeghem is first recorded as a singer at the Church of Our Lady, Antwerp, in 1443. He joined the French royal chapel in 1451, becoming chapel-master by 1454. In 1459 King Charles VII appointed him treasurer of the abbey of St Martin of Tours. ...
(Yo-an’-nes Tink’-tôr-is) 1430–after 1511 French theorist Tinctoris attended university at Orléans and worked for most of his adult life at the Aragonese court in Naples. There he produced the most authoritative body of theoretical writing on music of his time. He was familiar with current musical practices, and dedicated one of his treatises to his contemporaries Ockeghem and Busnoys. His surviving ...
More than any other hard-rock or heavy-metal duo, Iron Maiden guitarists Adrian Smith and Dave Murray (b. 1956) set the standard for twin-guitar harmony lines and riffs. Indeed, their killer riffs and epic songs have helped to make Iron Maiden one of the most influential metal bands of all time. Murray was born in Edmonton, England. Inspired by ...
(Yo-han’-nes Bramz) 1833–97 German composer Brahms is a Janus-like figure in music history: he simultaneously faced the past and the future. Reviving and enlarging the classical principles of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, his music has often been seen as a conservative reaction against the ‘new music’ of Liszt and, in particular, Wagner. Yet Brahms’ highly personal blend of ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1966–present) Comprising Bob Hite (vocals, harmonica), Al Wilson (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Henry Vestine (guitar), Larry Taylor (bass) and Fito De La Perra (drums), this Los Angeles band’s heyday was between 1966–70, when covers of the Memphis Jug Band’s ‘On The Road Again’ and Henry Thomas’s ‘Goin’ Up The Country’ propelled them up the charts. ...
(Drums, b. 1937) James ‘Sunny’ Murray is one of the quintessential free-jazz drummers. His most enduring legacy may be his many recordings with Cecil Taylor and Albert Ayler, which belie his beginnings with stride pianist Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith and swing era trumpeter Henry ‘Red’ Allen. Murray was as melodic on drums as Taylor was percussive on the piano ...
(Vocals, b. 1956) Dianne Reeves’s parents were musicians and her cousin, pianist George Duke, encouraged her, as did trumpeter Clark Terry. She sang in Los Angeles studio sessions in the late 1970s and 1980s, and with pop/jazz groups Caldera, Night Flight and Sergio Mendes’s troupe. Her albums blend jazz, gospel, African and Brazilian ...
(Fiddle, banjo, vocals, 1885–1960) An old-time fiddler and comic singer from Dacula, Georgia, Tanner gave his name to the most famous of old-time string bands, The Skillet Lickers, though his medicine-show routines were regarded as an embarrassment by younger members of the band, which included fiddler Clayton McMichen (1900–70), who was determined to ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1937) Alabama-born Norma Jean Bowman moved to Nashville with her husband, Jack Pruett (guitarist with Marty Robbins for 14 years), in 1956. In 1963, she became a songwriter for Robbins, gaining her own record deal with Decca in 1971. ‘Satin Sheets’ (1973) was her biggest hit, a three-week No. 1 that also ...
(Vocals, songwriter, b. 1955) Johnny Cash’s daughter topped the country charts 11 times in the 1980s, starting with ‘Seven Year Ache’ (1981). Ten were solo hits and ‘It’s Such A Small World’ (1988) a duet with her then-husband, Rodney Crowell. In 1985, she won a Grammy for Best Country Female Vocal Performance. Covering her father’s ‘Tennessee ...
b. 1963 German violinist After studying in Germany and Switzerland, Mutter performed at the Lucerne Festival in 1976. She appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1977, the same year as her English debut with the English Chamber Orchestra under Barenboim at the Brighton Festival. She has recorded all the Beethoven sonatas. Introduction | Contemporary | Classical Personalities | David ...
b. 1947 American pianist After studying in New York, Perahia won the Leeds International Piano Competition in 1972. In 1973 he appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival, where he worked with Britten and Pears. He has recorded all the Mozart concertos (directing the English Chamber Orchestra from the keyboard), and the Beethoven concertos with the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Haitink. Introduction ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–present) Much of this good-time blues outfit’s allure lay in the disparate natures of its late front men: jocular Bob ‘Bear’ Hite (vocals) and intense Al ‘Blind Owl’ Wilson (vocals, harmonica, guitar). 1968’s Boogie With Canned Heat and its attendant ‘On The Road Again’ hit established them as a world-class act. ‘Goin’ Up The Country’ and ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.